Love & Redemption
Chapter 103: Volume 3 Heartless Xuanji - 10 Change (10)

Chapter 103: Volume 3 Heartless Xuanji Chapter 10 Change (10)

In Xuanji’s heart, Linglong had always been a good sister. Although she was often loud and competitive, Xuanji never found her annoying; in fact, she loved the spirited way Linglong carried herself.

She had never imagined that one day Linglong would become like a wooden doll, obediently led by others, sitting motionless. No matter what was said to her, there was no longer any change in her eyes. Valley Master Rong had said that a person who had their two souls and six spirits taken away was no different from a dead person.

Xuanji was unwilling to believe this fact, and she didn’t know how to believe it. Linglong was still alive, breathing, quietly lying on the bed, her eyes still blinking, as if she would jump up at any moment, shouting her name, and then tightly embrace her, twisting like a pretzel as she asked her where she had been all these days, and why she hadn’t come to find her.

"I... I looked for you..." she muttered, wanting to touch Linglong’s rosy cheeks, but the person before her dispersed like smoke, that was just an illusion, the real Linglong still lay there, her eyelids not moving at all.

A pang of pain flashed through Xuanji’s eyes, and tears fell uncontrollably, dripping onto Linglong’s pale face. She gently wiped them away with her fingers, whispering lowly, "Linglong... don’t die... I will definitely save you..."

The light outside the window was faintly blue, and this heart-wrenching night finally passed slowly by. Xuanji gazed dully at Linglong’s jade-white face in the morning light, finally lifted her hands to wipe away the tears on her face, took a deep breath, and stood up to push the door open—no matter what her father said, she was determined to go to Buzhou Mountain and bring Linglong’s soul back.

At the door, four Fuyu Island disciples blocked the way. When they saw her come out, they looked somewhat embarrassed, bowed with their fists, and one of them said, "Miss Chu, where do you plan to go? We can lead the way for you."

Xuanji, with her eyes red from crying, was puzzled like a little rabbit, "I... I know the way, why do you need to lead me?"

The disciples were a little at a loss, and could only smile and say, "The Sect Leader has ordered that wherever Miss Chu wishes to go these next few days, we are to accompany you. It’s almost time for breakfast, does Miss Chu want to go have breakfast?"

Xuanji was no fool, and if she didn’t understand what was happening now, she really would be an idiot. Her face reddened, and she said softly, "What is this? Are you here to watch over me? Am I a prisoner?"

The disciples saw that she was annoyed and hurriedly smiled, "Miss Chu, you’re overreacting. It’s just that yesterday there was another spy who infiltrated the island, injured the dungeon guards, and killed a prisoner, and we have yet to investigate who was responsible. As a guest from afar, the Sect Leader ordered us to come and look after you..."

Xuanji replied coolly, "Those are all excuses. I’m not a three-year-old child; I don’t need any looking after. Wherever I go, I’m followed by four people. Is that fun? If I go to the latrine, will you follow me there too?"

A few of the male disciples blushed at her retort, but they dared not disobey the Sect Leader’s orders. Seeing Xuanji step out, even if it truly meant heading to the latrine, they had to follow.

Seeing that they really followed her like gum on a shoe, Xuanji felt both annoyed and depressed inside. Thinking about the spy’s intrusion last night to assassinate a prisoner, she suddenly connected it to the issue of "wounds bursting open" that Zhong Minyan and the others faced. No wonder Si Feng was hesitant yesterday evening; it was them who had killed Brother Ouyang... It was the same again, they knew everything, and only she was kept in the dark, that feeling of being excluded, she had tasted many years ago, it was not pleasant, and she didn’t expect to experience it once again now.

She suddenly stopped, and the four Fuyu Island disciples behind her also abruptly halted. Xuanji turned around and stared at them, feeling so annoyed she could hardly stand it, and wanted to draw her sword and drive them away.

Just as she was seething with killing intent, she heard someone behind her call out, "Xuanji, what are you doing?"

It turned out to be Zhong Minyan and the others. Xuanji was just about to go over to complain to Yu Sifeng, but she saw that each of them was also followed by several Fuyu Island disciples. Everyone looked embarrassingly at each other, not knowing what to say.

"So... you’re also..." Zhong Minyan rubbed his forehead helplessly, his voice heavy with nasal sounds, sounding utterly exhausted. He hadn’t slept all night, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins, not knowing if he had cried in secret.

Yu Sifeng sighed, "They probably fear we might impulsively head to Buzhou Mountain, so they’ve sent people to watch us... I really didn’t expect this."

Ruo Yu, seeing that standing around in the courtyard doing nothing was pointless, suggested, "Let’s go inside and check on Linglong, shall we?"

Xuanji opened the door silently. Zhong Minyan lingered at the entrance for a long while before finally slowly walking in. The other three, with an understanding among them, closed the door, stood at the doorway, and exchanged awkward glances with the other disciples.

The past couple of days had been more upsetting to Zhong Minyan than all of his previous decades combined; it was something he found hard to bear. It felt as though layer upon layer of burdens had been added to his shoulders, crushing him so much that he struggled to breathe.

The things he had always deeply trusted and was proud of were gently shattered that night. The treasures he had deeply loved and could not bear to harm were inadvertently lost.

Now, it seemed as though he had lost everything, left with nothing, and his very existence felt meaningless.

The room was somewhat dim, a red-robed young lady lay on the bed, a semi-worn silk quilt covering her body, her jet-black hair spread across the bed, shimmering in the sunlight.

Zhong Minyan slowly walked over, staring at her dully, as though his heart was being scraped by a sharp blade, pain so intense that he slowly knelt down, tightly grasping her hand, as if in doing so, he could gain some courage.

For a long, long time, his hoarse voice rose in the quiet room, "Linglong... It’s all my fault..."

He should never have left her alone on Gao Mountain, let alone finally giving up the search to run off to Fuyu Island.

In his memories, the girl who was like a blooming flower, with her glossy eyes, looked at him with a mix of reproach and joy. A blush suddenly appeared on her face, and then, gritting her teeth, she scolded, "Zhong Minyan, at least give me an explanation!"

Yes, he hadn’t yet told her how much he liked her, how he had fantasized a long time ago about spending a lifetime with her. He should have told her sooner, holding her hand, regardless of how much she struggled, to whisper and assert firmly to her that he liked her and would never leave her in this lifetime. After they got married, they would have many children; he liked girls, and wanted them to look just like her.

His slender fingers brushed across the girl’s wooden face, a few drops of water gently fell onto her clothing, quickly spreading out.

"Linglong, wait for me. We will see each other again very soon."

Zhong Minyan took a deep breath, stood up, and pulled open the door. Xuanji and the other two were still waiting at the door, showing no intention of leaving.

"Come in and talk," he said in a low voice, glancing at the Fuyu Island disciples.

The four of them walked into the house together and closed the door. Yu Sifeng, seeing the tear stains on his face, silently patted his shoulder, unsure of what to say.

Zhong Minyan said in a deep voice, "This won’t do. There are people following us every day until we leave Fuyu Island. I am sure that the Sect Leader won’t let us continue our training either; he will definitely escort us back to Shaoyang Peak. We have to find a way to shake these people off."

Xuanji, who had been stifling her anger for quite some time, immediately said, "Just fight our way out!"

Yu Sifeng held her back, "Calm down, we can’t be impulsive at this time. No matter what, this is all done with the best intentions of the Sect Leaders, for fear that we might goes off to die in vain, making things awkward for all. However, I believe these people can’t follow us all day; there will eventually be a moment when they change shifts or get careless. We’ll wait for the dead of night when they are all tired, and then slip off the island quietly."

"And if they never get careless? Are we just going to wait forever?" Xuanji, lately vexed by these events, displayed a bit of Linglong’s reckless temperament.

"Xuanji." Yu Sifeng called her name and just looked at her quietly.

She lowered her head and, after a long while, said softly, "I... I understand. I’ll endure it."

Yu Sifeng couldn’t help but pat her head, "Good kid. Being impatient often makes things harder to accomplish. If we stay inside the house for too long, they will surely strengthen their guard. It’s better to go out for a walk."

Ruo Yu nodded, "Indeed, lest they suspect we are plotting an escape. By the way... does anyone know where Buzhou Mountain is? I’ve only heard of it but never been there."

Everyone shook their heads. It seemed that all had heard of the great name of Buzhou Mountain, but nobody would go there without good reason.

"I have a map," Xuanji hastily spread out the map on the ground, but after looking at it for half a day until their eyes were nearly crossed, they still couldn’t find the words ’Buzhou Mountain’ on it.

Ruo Yu rubbed her temples and sighed, "In ancient mythology, the Water God Gonggong was defeated by the Fire God Zhu Rong and knocked over Buzhou Mountain, which caused a cataclysmic flood in the human world. If Buzhou Mountain could hold up the sky, it must be an extremely towering and majestic range, so how come it’s not on the map?"

"You... are talking about mythology. Is it possible... that there actually is no Buzhou Mountain? Or... its name is different now?" Xuanji was still searching the map inch by inch.

Yu Sifeng pondered, "I’ve heard that place is connected to the Netherworld and is guarded by the Divine Generals Shen Tu and Yu Lei at the gates. While legends can’t be taken as truth, they aren’t unfounded either. I’ve heard from the Sect Leader before, Buzhou Mountain is near the Western Wilderness; we might as well head west and ask around when we get there."

After the discussion, they opened the door and went out. Those Fuyu Island disciples had been waiting impatiently and quickly greeted them, smiling, "Brothers, do you want to have breakfast?"

Zhong Minyan hummed in an old-fashioned way and added, "That purple rice porridge we had last time was good; please mention it for me. Oh, and that pickled dish from Fuyu Island tasted quite nice too."

The disciples looked at each other, thinking, are we supposed to be waiters now? However, they dare not disobey the Sect Leader’s orders and had to agree to take care of it.

Seeing their frustrated faces as they walked away, Xuanji couldn’t help but snicker. Zhong Minyan let out a sigh of relief, stretching himself comfortably, while Yu Sifeng and Ruo Yu beside him could only smile wryly and shake their heads. (To be continued... To find out what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)